The lottery was in the headlines this week as a British winner scooped the whopping £184million EuroMillions jackpot on Tuesday night. It made them the UK's biggest ever winner.
Overnight, they were catapulted above Ed Sheeran and Sir Tom Jones, to name just two wealthy celebs, in the rich list. In all, more than 6,000 Brits have become lottery millionaires, reports the Mirror.
And, while many have enjoyed their life-changing windfalls, others have gone down a different path.
Michael Carroll was just 19 and working as a binman when he scooped £9.7million in 2002. But he struggled with addiction and blew his fortune on booze, sex parties and expensive cars. By 2013, he was bankrupt.
He is now reportedly living a quiet life and told The Sun: "The dealer who introduced me to crack has more of my Lotto money than I do. But I don't regret any of it."
Callie Rogers became the youngest ever lottery winner when she won an incredible £1.8million in 2003. But she blew through her fortune - spending £18,000 on plastic surgery, £250,000 on cocaine, another £300,000 on clothes and gave away £500,000 to friends and family.
She later told ITV's 'This Morning' that she battled depression during the pressure of winning and tried to take her own life. Now in her 30s, she said much happier with her life as a working mum-of-three.
She added: "Not knowing who liked me for me, and having all the stress of all the money, I just wanted to go back to having a normal life. I still struggle with trust issues."
Hospital porter John McGuinness won £10million in 1997. The kind-hearted family man gifted millions to his family, hundreds of thousands to his ex-wife and indulged his passion for fast cars.
But he ended up jobless and penniless thanks to his lifelong passion for Livingston FC. He invested €4.6million into the club, which then went into administration. Because John had used his riches as a guarantee against the club's loans, he was liable for all the debt.
Jane Park won the £1million jackpot on the EuroMillions aged just 17, while working an £8 an hour job. But she later threatened to sue, after claiming it had ruined her life.
Speaking to the Sunday People, she said: “I have material things but apart from that my life is empty. What is my purpose in life?”
"I thought it would make [my life] ten times better but it’s made it ten times worse. I wish I had no money most days. I say to myself, ‘My life would be so much easier if I hadn’t won.’"
Couple Colin and Christine Weir scooped what was at the time the biggest ever lottery win - £161m - in 2011. But they split in 2019 after 38 years of marriage
By the time Mr Weir died aged 71, in December of that year, the father of two had managed to get through half of his share in just eight years. He had shared it widely among family and friends, including generous donations to his beloved Patrick Thistle FC, charities, a political party, trust funds for the common good and property investments.
Mark Goodram and Jon Watson used stolen debit card details to buy a lottery scratchcard that won £4million. The pair from Bolton, Greater Manchester were jailed - but not before they went on a four-day bender after scooping the prize.
Suspicious Camelot officials refused to pay out after Goodram revealed he didn't have a bank account for the cash to be paid into. The pair denied fraud but then pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 18-months at Bolton Crown Court in December.
Camelot was previously fined £3million after accepting a fraudulent claim for £2.5m from convicted rapist Edward Putnam . He was jailed for nine years for fleecing Camelot in Britain's biggest lottery fraud.
The rapist bricklayer conspired with Camelot insider Giles Knibbs, who had access to vital information about unclaimed tickets. While on leave from prison, he claimed an unclaimed £2.5million ticket that had been bought in Worcestershire in March 2009.
Despite Camelot's concerns over the validity of the ticket, they shelled out. But his secret win was exposed after he claimed he was living in poverty to carry out a cynical benefits fraud. In 2019, he was jailed for nine years, after Knibbs took his own life in 2015.
Iorworth Hoare won a whopping £7.2 million on the National Lottery in 2004 - while in prison after being convicted of attempted rape. He brought the ticket at an Asda in Middlesbrough in 2004 while on weekend leave from Leyhill open prison, a year before he was freed.
He has spent 30 years in jail since 1973 for one rape, three attempted rapes and two indecent assaults. His victim successfully campaigned for the law to be changed so she could sue Hoare for damages.
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